


you see the truth

by stardustgirl



Series: Collapse(s) [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: (but still not really good), Angst, Child Abuse, Dark!Ezra, Ezra's about 10 or so in this, Hurt No Comfort, Ilum, Imperial AU, Inquisitor!Ezra, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), So about a year after he was found by the Inquisitorius, The Most Wonderful Tales of the Year Writing Challenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: The Inquisitor and his apprentice head to Ilum to investigate a reported Jedi sighting.{A Collapse(s) Oneshot}(Technically takes place six years before Collapse(s))





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for "The Most Wonderful Tales of the Year Writing Challenge" on YWP.
> 
> December 12: "snow day"
> 
> TW: Child Abuse

He blinked at the white landscape around them and the chill that permeated his bones, both unfamiliar and unsettling.  He shivered and glanced up at the Pau’an beside him.

The man didn’t look down, only looking out silently before walking down the ramp of the shuttle.  The boy swallowed, hesitating.

_ Come now or you’ll regret it. _

He stumbled down the ramp in his haste to follow his Master, shivering again.  The Pau’an didn’t pause to wait as his apprentice scurried after him, breath fogging thickly in the air.

“Why are we here?”

“Don’t waste your energy on questions, boy.  Come.” He nodded, jogging a couple of steps to ensure his Master didn’t leave him behind.

They walked through the white silently, the boy rubbing his arms and shivering the entire time.

“Wh- where are we?”

His query went unacknowledged as they continued.  Something seemed  _ wrong _ with the planet, too; the feel of it reminded him of the first time his Master had ignited his ‘saber and he’d heard the screaming crystal.  There was a similar noise here.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up only moments later and he glanced up to see a shuttle departing from the direction they were heading in, soaring up to orbit and the Destroyers he knew awaited there.

He shivered again.

Finally they stopped at what appeared to be some sort of makeshift office.  His Master cleared his throat, gesturing for him to go first, but he hesitated.  Sighing, the Pau’an stalked ahead through the white.

They entered the building--a generous term, given it was mostly a shack--quietly and he nearly bumped into his Master, choking back the swell of fear that arose at the near miss.  The man only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but his gaze was still stern enough to cow his apprentice.

“Where is our target located?” his Master asked in a cold, clear voice, however the boy could tell he was disinterested.

“A- a few klicks west of the main base of mining operations, I- I believe, s- sir- Inquisitor,” a nervous-looking man in an unmarked but still Imperial uniform answered.  “Th- the report said he has a lightsaber, and he’s holed up well. Are- are you sure--”

“Silence.  I have handled greater opponents than... _ this _ one.  Apprentice, come.”  The Pau’an turned, leaving the boy barely enough time to scramble out of his way before he was run into.  He glanced back into the makeshift office once before hurrying to follow the man once more.


	2. Chapter 2

They stopped in front of the speeder bikes,  but before he could get on, his Master grasped his shoulder and held him back.  He flinched, breath catching in his throat as the hand tightened slightly.

“I trust that I do not need to remind you of the consequences should you decide to leave?”

He nodded hurriedly.  “N- no.”

“No…?”

“No, Master,” he corrected, flinching back.  The Pau’an nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“Now come.”  He mounted the speeder and gunned it, sending the vehicle ahead as his apprentice scrambled onto another speeder to follow.

The wind pulled at the small vehicle, threatening to tip it over as it raced across the strange white ground.  The boy shuddered, huddling further into his armor as the makeshift office disappeared behind him.

Thankfully the day was overcast, so there was no harsh glint of sunlight on the ground.  However, that also meant a lack of warmth, which grew even more apparent as the day wore on and they were still going.

Finally the mountains that had been on the horizon most of the day began to get closer, and soon enough a large complex appeared as well.  They slowed before stopping at the edge of the complex.

“Wait here,” his Master said, leaving the speeder behind and heading toward the main building.

As soon as he was inside, the boy swung the speeder away from the complex and toward the mountains.  He was gone before his Master could do a thing.


	3. Chapter 3

He entered the first cave he found, breath fogging in the air as he stumbled off of the speeder bike and dragged it into the cave.

He shivered in the cold, wishing he didn’t have the bike so he could wrap both arms around himself instead of tugging the bike further into the cave. But if his Master _did_ figure out he was up here, a bike outside the cave would be a dead giveaway to his location.

He just had to hope he wouldn’t run into the Jedi.

He continued into the cave, shivering again and wishing a bend would appear in the cave already so he could hide the bike. But the tunnel only appeared to keep going straight.

Finally the tunnel gained a gradual curve that he followed until he couldn’t see the light from the entrance anymore.

However, there was another.

He let the speeder drift a few feet forward as he walked toward the new light, wishing, not for the first time, that he had his own lightsaber already.

He stopped at the entrance to a larger cavern.

There was a small lamp in the middle of the cavern, and a bedroll against the wall. His senses immediately went on high alert as something told him someone else was there.

He continued further into the cavern regardless.

Once in the middle of the cave he began to rotate slowly, studying the rock walls around him. There was nothing on them that told him anything about who was living there at the moment.

_Turn._

He was starting to turn when he heard the ignition of a lightsaber, the blue blade hovering in front of his throat as he inhaled shakily.

“Don’t move, Inquisitor,” a quiet voice hissed.

It looked like the Jedi had found him before he had found the Jedi.

He wasn’t going to hear the end of this anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two minutes late but happy crimas to everybody who celebrates it!!


End file.
